Monday, October 25, 2010

We were eating in a sidewalk café when a man approached us with a handful of brochures. At first I thought he was another beggar, but instead, he wanted us to vote for a certain man running for mayor. I was at once surprised, amused, and pleased to hear Demetrios’ response: “Your candidate is proposing to rename St. Demetrios Street and make it Kemal Attaturk Street and that tells us everything we need to know about him.”

(St. Demetrios, you are to understand, is this city’s patron saint; while Attaturk is regarded as The Butcher of the Greeks.)

“And your party ought never to support such a man,” added Demetrios.

“But he has so many good policies…” the canvasser replied.

“Never mind. This one says it all. Get him out.”

The man shrugged and started to move away.

“Remove him from your party!” called Demetrios after him, smiling but shaking his finger. “Because of all the issues there are, those concerning the motherland come first. Never forget that.”